


Pre-Dawn Before the Battle

by Sumi



Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Humor, Sexual Tension, Snark, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:54:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22218121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sumi/pseuds/Sumi
Summary: "Captain should I request the assistance of one or more of the crew? You've been mumbling to yourself for nearly an hour now while over feasting on purpleberry brunch. It seems like what you humans would describe as a 'cry for help'."Francis quickly finished the piece of purpleberry crunch in her mouth. She stared at the array of empty wrappers littering her bed and begin making attempts to clear them."ADA this is not a cry for help," Francis said firmly."I must disagree, Captain."
Relationships: The Captain/Maximillian DeSoto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32
Collections: The City and the Stars 2019





	Pre-Dawn Before the Battle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the_wrote](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_wrote/gifts).



Life proved to be complicated since Francis's escape pod crash landed onto the real Alex Hawthorne. Halcyon was a shit show from the start and the more she encountered only reinforced this thought. All of these things led to one conclusion: The former Captain of the Unreliable was one lucky bastard.

Francis tried not to let these thoughts overwhelm her. It helped that the crew knew the truth of her identity. She insisted on telling them from the beginning, regardless of ADA's warnings. In order to ease ADA's circuits Francis did threaten to jettison any crew member into spacethat even thought of betraying her.

It worked in the end. The threats may have worked, but then again they could've had no effect what-so-ever. Her fragile mental health was on the line here so Francis really didn't give two shits.

Francis's single goal was helping safely wake up the many colonists still stranded on the Hope. She had no idea what would happen if Phineas Welles crazy plan came to fruition. The one thing driving her would be done and gone. It was yet another thought Francis needed to push out of her mind. She needed to focus on the current task at hand, which was breaking Phineas out of prison. Perhaps Francis might feel some hope if they made it out of that alive.

For the moment tensions on the Unreliable were at an all-time high. SAM had cleaned so much that there wasn't so much as a speck of dirt on board with them. Several different prices of equipment were taken apart and put back together by poor Parvati while Ellie and Nyoka kept indulging in the many substances available in Halcyon. Felix was still Felix, but it was clear he wasn't his usual self.

The only one who seemed off the edge was Max. He'd been lulled into a state of calm after Francis and the crew completed his personal quest. Francis's choice of wording earned her a shout of amusement from Felix.

At least someone in Halcyon had found some peace. Francis wondered if she ever would with her family long dead and future here undetermined. These were thoughts that often plagued her and today was no different.

Francis had retired to her quarters moments after returning to the Unreliable. The one thing she didn't expect was to be called out by the ship's sassy AI.

"Captain should I request the assistance of one or more of the crew? You've been mumbling to yourself for nearly an hour now while over feasting on purpleberry brunch. It seems like what you humans would describe as a 'cry for help'."

Francis quickly finished the piece of purpleberry crunch in her mouth. She stared at the array of empty wrappers in littering her bed and begin making attempts to clear them.

"ADA this is not a cry for help," Francis said firmly.

"I must disagree, Captain."

She scowled. "Who knows more about human emotions ADA? You or an actual human?"

"Sometimes it takes an outsider to recognize the behavior," ADA quipped back.

A retort was on the tip of Francis's tongue, but before she could say anything Max decided to approach her quarters and ask for entry. She looked around, making sure all the wrappers were gone. It wouldn't do good for the crew to see their captain in such a state.

"Come in, Max," she called out, giving him a small smirk when he entered. "Did you draw the short straw preacher man?"

The reference was lost on Max, but he gave her one of those infuriating smiles that made the desire pool low in her stomach. Damned bastard had this effect on her since the moment they met in Edgewater. She suspected he might know given that he was a very perceptive individual.

"No straws were drawn to encourage my coming here to check in you, Captain," Max said.

Francis sighed. "Did ADA put you up to this? Damned AI can't keep her metaphorical nose out of my business."

It certainly helped prove her theory that ADA was sentient. She could deny it all she wanted, but Francis was sure of it. Why else go to these lengths to get Francis out of the Captain's quarters and away from candy?

"Francis pardon me if I don't want my captain spiraling downward," Max snapped, eyes narrowed. 

“Well shit, Max. You must mean business if you used my real name.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose in obvious irritation. It wouldn’t take much for Max to snap. While the man had calmed down significantly (somewhat at her insistence), he still was quick to anger. Part of Francis wanted to keep pushing… if not solely for the reason of avoiding the bullshit going on in her head.

Francis stood from the bed and pulled back her covers to show the many empty wrappers she had been attempting to conceal. “Try to keep this from the rest of the crew. Some of them will never let me live it down and the last thing I want is SAM here obsessively cleaning.”

Max became quiet, observing Francis in a way that made her nervous. Suddenly she closed the gap between them and kissed Max after feeling a random bout of impulsiveness. Might as well make whatever feelings she had for the Unreliable’s man of the cloth known before heading out to break that mad scientist out of prison.

To her surprise Max didn’t hesitate for a second. He kissed her back, effectively pinning Francis’s back up against the wall. When they parted for air she looked up at him with a small smirk playing on her lips.

“We definitely have something to talk about if we get out of this in one piece.”

Max laughed. “I will hold you to that, Captain. You can count on that.”

The last part of his sentence was said in a whisper that did little to quell the desire she felt for the Vicar. Francis wanted to give into it, but it was probably best to ignore it until Phineas was rescued and the colonists on the Hope had more than a just a decent chance at survival.


End file.
